Althouse: Sunrise — 6:30, 7:00, 7:13, 7:15.

October 12, 2025

Sunrise — 6:30, 7:00, 7:13, 7:15.

Write about whatever you want in the comments.

(If the second photograph looks incongruous, that's because it's a view of the western sky.)

97 comments:

narciso said...: https://x.com/i/status/1977149206499676536; 10/12/25, 7:37 PM
Iman said...: Will teh Wolf survive?; 10/12/25, 7:41 PM
Original Mike said...: Venus. Or a hot pixel.; 10/12/25, 7:46 PM
Iman said...: For those with an interest, the documentary about John Candy on Amazon Prime is worth a watch. To me, it hardly seems possible that he passed away 31 years ago.; 10/12/25, 7:46 PM
Jaq said...: Ha ha! That's pretty funny.

Netanyahu really screwed the pooch with that strike in Qatar, which did not pave the way by killing the negotiators, like Instapundit's post claims, but rather was such an overreach by Netanyahu that he was forced to knuckle under.

“A key member of the American effort has attacked another, with America seen as complacent, complicit or blind,” he said. “The resulting distrust will mar American efforts for years to come.” - Washington Post

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2025/10/11/us-israel-arab-military-leaked-documents/; 10/12/25, 7:52 PM
tcrosse said...: Spare a thought for the late John Candy, Chris Farley, and Louis Anderson. No fat-shaming, please.; 10/12/25, 7:56 PM
Jaq said...: Meanwhile, if Trump blunders in the war we are now in with Russia, according to the Daily Telegraph the way he just blundered with China, he is not going to be able to send Vance out to walk it back on the Sunday shows.

Away from the diplomatic stage, US intelligence has been helping Kyiv plot flight paths and make altitude, timing and mission decisions, enabling Ukraine’s long-range attack drones to dodge Russian air defences and reach their targets.
Washington is closely involved in all stages of planning, three sources familiar with the operation told the Financial Times. A US official said Ukraine selected the targets and Washington then shared intelligence on the sites’ vulnerabilitie - Daily Telegraph

Don't worry though, just because we gave them the weapons, chose the targets, aimed the weapons, we didn't pull the trigger so it doesn't count, right?; 10/12/25, 8:01 PM
FullMoon said...: Narcisos link. Def worth a look. Israel celebrating Trump.; 10/12/25, 8:29 PM
Eva Marie said...: I watched Manhattan Murder Mystery for a fee on Amazon Prime. Dianne Keaton and Woody Allan. Excellent plot, excellent 3/4 of the way through and then it got very clumsy. Too much slapstick on Woody’s part and the ending to the mystery was poorly executed. I wish they had gotten help from Steve Cannell, writer for Rockford Files. So I looked up Cannell and found out 2 interesting facts about him:
1. His son Derek died in 1982 at age 15 when a sand castle he was building at the beach collapsed and suffocated him. (Cannell later guest starred on the series Castle)
2. Cannell died in 2010 at age 69 from complications of melanoma.
Weird coincidences.
Despite its flaws Manhattan Murder Mystery - highly recommended. (No on screen violence.); 10/12/25, 8:30 PM
FullMoon said...: "......I learned to hate the Russians all through my whole life
If another war comes, it's them we must fight
To hate them and fear them, to run and to hide
And accept it all bravely with God on my side
But now we've got weapons of chemical dust
If fire them we're forced to, then fire them we must
One push of the button and they shot the world wide
And you never ask questions when God's on your side
Through many dark hour I been thinkin' about this
That Jesus Christ was betrayed by a kiss
But I can't think for you, you'll have to decide
Whether Judas Iscariot had God on his side
So now as I'm leavin', I'm weary as hell
The confusion I'm feelin' ain't no tongue can tell
The words fill my head, and they fall to the floor
That if God's on our side, he'll stop the next war"

https://www.google.com/search?q=lyrics+with+God+on+our+side&gs_ivs=1; 10/12/25, 8:31 PM
john mosby said...: Iman: Los Lobos - si!!

The John Candy doc is great. Also serves as a John Hughes doc - was kind of wild to watch one departed great talking about another.

Candy outlived his dad by almost a decade, and from the pics in the doc, the dad was never obese. Bad hearts seem to run in the family, and rather than beat himself up with diet and exercise, Candy the younger ate, drank and smoked what he wanted, and probably lived about as long as he was going to either way.

Oddly, he wanted to come south and volunteer for the US Army in Vietnam, but was rejected - not for being overweight, but for his trick football knee. CC, JSM; 10/12/25, 8:37 PM
john mosby said...: Narciso and FullMoon, ref Israel celebrating Trump: I dunno. I don't live there, but it seems like they are glad this war's over, and trying not to think too hard about the next one. Maybe that is just the Israeli condition. I was happy when we had a cease-fire with Iraq in 1991 and I didn't have to go clear Basra or drive to Baghdad; my company commander said "Fuck the Kurds." Other guys had to do that stuff 12 years later, though. The Israelis will probably be fighting Hamas again a lot sooner than 12 years from now. CC, JSM; 10/12/25, 8:44 PM
buwaya said...: Too bad for the sad little Russians. All their neighbors hate them, through no fault of their own... probably.; 10/12/25, 8:46 PM
FullMoon said...: "The Israelis will probably be fighting Hamas again a lot sooner than 12 years from now. CC, JSM"

No doubt about it. Hamas will use "peace" to re-group.; 10/12/25, 8:47 PM
Jaq said...: The Kurds were just the excuse the US used to overthrow Assad and turn the country over to the head choppers, who are making a regular sport out of massacring Christians. Here is the latest:

https://ewtn.co.uk/article-in-syria-real-massacres-phantom-killings-constant-threats/

The man running Syria right now had a price on his head from the US as a terrorist, and now he's a great guy.; 10/12/25, 8:50 PM
Jaq said...: If all of Russia's neighbors hate them, it's none of America's business. Why should we be dragged into a war on the other side of the world?; 10/12/25, 8:57 PM
buwaya said...: The Iranians "overthrew" Assad when they were unable to replace Hezbollah, that was propping him up. Israel crippled Hezbollah, and the remaining Hezbollah characters in Syra ran away home. Iran didnt replace them. Neither did Russia. Then the Syrian regime had two men and a dog to hold the front lines. Because of course next to no one in Syria wanted to fight for Assad.; 10/12/25, 9:06 PM
Peachy said...: Antifa does not exist; 10/12/25, 9:09 PM
Peachy said...: Portland (Oct. 12) — Leftist rioters are arrested outside the ICE facility. Antifa supporters ask for the suspects' names so that they can inform others to delete communications, and to give suspects access to free legal aid.

Hopefully they took minutes.; 10/12/25, 9:13 PM
buwaya said...: There is this "Pax Americana" thing thats been US policy since 1945 (some say 1948). Its a good thing. No world wars.
No "Pax Americana" means some other SOB will feel free to impose its own "Pax". That will be very ugly. You don't want a Chinese "Pax", or the mess involved in creating one, and the Atlantic and Pacific wont save you.
Is it "unfair"? Yes.Suck it up, it comes with immense wealth and vast power. If the US collapses and becomes poor and useless then it will know peace. For a little while.; 10/12/25, 9:14 PM
Kakistocracy said...: When you completely destroy your enemies territory, kill thousands of civilians, kill their top leaders and all the while cut off supplies and begin starving whats left of the civilian population, it makes negotiating a helluva lot easier. It's the only reason Germany and Japan came to the table, demoralizing bombing campaigns. It's the only reason Hamas did in this case.

I'm not defending what Israel did, I'm stating this because it was the reason everyone came to the table, not because of some miracle negotiating skills. People seem to confuse causality and morality.; 10/12/25, 9:17 PM
Peachy said...: "The French-born man accused of igniting the deadly Palisades fires in Los Angeles had donated to Biden's 2020 campaign. Liberals had blamed the fires on climate change."; 10/12/25, 9:18 PM
Jupiter said...: Dr. Spock is supposed to be highly intelligent, and completely rational. "Fascinating", is his response to pretty much everything. So, why doesn't he kill Kirk, imprison Bones, and take over the Enterprise? Well, because, Why would he? That would not be rational.
But this just exposes the essential fallacy of liberal thought. The conceit is that a perfectly rational being would never choose to act aggressively. But if Spock wanted -- for whatever reason -- to control the Enterprise, then acting aggressively to obtain that control would be entirely rational. And his high intelligence should allow him to develop a plan that will work.

The reality is, that against people who are not inclined to be aggressive, aggression can be a very successful strategy. And the highly intelligent people who want to get control of the resources of other nations realize that, and act upon that. Which is why "peace" is only possible when those who could destroy it prefer to maintain it. Which is seldom.; 10/12/25, 9:31 PM
Jupiter said...: Well. I suppose it would be more accurate to say, peace is possible when the people who could destroy it see more upside to maintaining it. But that is a calculation that can change with time. Sooner or later, it will.; 10/12/25, 9:36 PM
buwaya said...: The principal "resource" of the US is its vast market. Everyone wants to sell to the US. They fight for access. The US has used access to its market as an instrument of power.
A US that is a second rate, or uncompetitive power, will inevitably become a captive market, the goal of some colonialist policies. China is itching to impose some of that colonialism.; 10/12/25, 9:41 PM
Mason G said...: Liberals had blamed the fires on climate change."

When climate change doesn't provide enough fires, the left is willing to supply what's needed.; 10/12/25, 9:44 PM
FormerLawClerk said...: Spare a thought for the late John Candy, Chris Farley, and Louis Anderson. No fat-shaming, please.

And the man that made them all possible: John Belushi.; 10/12/25, 9:47 PM
buwaya said...: The Democratic party has spent most of the postwar years actively trying to hamper US power, impede economic development, and impose costs. Rent seeking behavior is destructive.
The Republicans have done SOME of that, but it is not at all the essence of the party, as it most certainly that of the Democrats.
That is the distilled view from 50,000 feet.; 10/12/25, 9:48 PM
FormerLawClerk said...: "if Trump blunders in the war we are now in with Russia"

We're not in a war with Russia.

We're in a war with Democrats. A guerilla war. They've tried to execute our political leader. Twice. And will keep trying.

They've tried to execute our Judicial leaders.

They've successfully assassinated some of our thought leaders.

Donald Trump needs to get off the golf course and get into a war room. Like Lincoln did.

Lincoln killed Democrats who defied him. That's why he's on Mt. Rushmore and Donald Trump isn't.; 10/12/25, 9:51 PM
Michael Fitzgerald said...: narciso said...
https://x.com/i/status/1977149206499676536
10/12/25, 7:37 PM

LMAO! It's just like the President promised in his State of The Union speech. There is literally no good deed that he can do that they will approve of. Peace in the Middle East? *#%&@&ing Trump!!!
Democrat Party members are so pathetically, desperately, pathologically miserable.; 10/12/25, 9:53 PM
Jupiter said...: Star Trek is an astonishing self-repudiation of 60's NATO-American ideology. Presumably, the Federation is the outgrowth of the hyper-wonderful notions underlying the UN. Yet, five or six generations down the line, there are still Russians and Scots and Sulu, who may be Chinese or may be Japanese, or Korean, -- Hey, whatever. He's yellow. Then there's Uhuru, who is African, but fairly clearly not Afro-American. Afro-African, but English is still her first language. And a white guy whose name means "Church" is in charge, and pretty much everybody else is straight out of an American propaganda film about the Second World War.

So, in this wonderful world of the future, national and racial distinctions have not lessened even slightly. Humans have not miscegenated into a khaki sludge, speaking an English-Swahili-Chinese pidgin. Nor has the human determination to roam around making an inventory of valuable resources to be stolen subsided in the slightest.; 10/12/25, 9:53 PM
Jupiter said...: I have read what Churchill and Eisenhower wrote about the war they managed to win, by supping with the Devil, with a very short spoon. And I can understand why their generation stood up this bizarre international system, predicated upon whimsical impossibilities, and braced it up with hard economic realities. They had spent long years, enthusiastically affirming whatever lie seemed to serve the immediate need, or perhaps to further the long-term objective. Their horror at what they had seen, and worse, what they had themselves done, demanded that radical changes be made. They longed to create a world where people like them would not be in charge. But I'm afraid it was no more than a port -- any port -- in a gathering storm. We live in interesting times.; 10/12/25, 10:09 PM
bagoh20 said...: I'm really getting disappointed in A.I.. Even on simple undisputed facts, it screws up royally. I just asked one in my browser: "Who died last, Bob Hope or Ronald Reagan?"
I got this:
"Bob Hope died last, on July 27, 2003, while Ronald Reagan passed away later, on June 5, 2004."
A.I. = Artificial Idiot.; 10/12/25, 10:10 PM
bagoh20 said...: "And the man that made them all possible:" Fatty Arbuckle.; 10/12/25, 10:14 PM
Michael Fitzgerald said...: And of course, there are many so-called conservatives who will never give Trump his due respect as we see every day here and on this very thread. 8 peace agreements between belligerents in 9 months in office, borders securely closed at last, criminal illegals being rounded up and shipped out, Supreme Court victory after victory, tariffs bringing Billions into federal coffers, libtard celebrities finally actually leaving our great nation as they promised years and years ago...
*#%@&$@&*ing Trump needs to get his fat ass off the golf course!!!!
It would be funny if it wasn't so dumb and ugly.; 10/12/25, 10:16 PM
Kakistocracy said...: Don’t worry about China, it will all be fine! Highly respected President Xi just had a bad moment. He doesn’t want Depression for his country, and neither do I. The U.S.A. wants to help China, not hurt it!!! President DJT
https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/115362196088273474

In the current situation, Trump's biggest problems are that:
(a) he talks too much, and
(b) he's impulsive.

The Chinese are exactly the opposite.

It's inconceivable that the rare earths move was not deeply considered and it seems to me that it was predicated on the fact that TACO will always be TACO.

I predict that both sides will agree to keep studying the tariff situation for another six months and Trump will claim sweeping victory.; 10/12/25, 10:18 PM
bagoh20 said...: Spock never said: "I'm a doctor..."
His full name was: S'Chn T'Gai Spock, Science Officer
and mine is bagoh2o el nerdo.; 10/12/25, 10:21 PM
Jupiter said...: When Thucydides talks about the arguments that the Athenians used to persuade various parties to take their side in the war against Sparta, in which he served, they do not emit platitudes about "We come in peace" or "A shining City on a Hill". They say "You would be better off with us than with the Spartans, and in any case, if you choose the Spartans, we will cut your balls off and sell your wives and children into slavery".
I suppose that in the case of NATO, the Soviets had already cut off lots of balls, and sold plenty of wives and children, so Marshall felt that a different approach was called for.; 10/12/25, 10:23 PM
bagoh20 said...: "In the current situation, Trump's biggest problems are that:
(a) he talks too much, and
(b) he's impulsive."

Of all the commenters here, you guys will never believe who said that. Amazing!; 10/12/25, 10:24 PM
Jupiter said...: BTW, I highly recommend Dean Acheson's "Present At The Creation", his memoir of his service in the State Department during and especially after WWII. A glimpse of the hideous, clinging fog in which they moved, in that nightmare era.; 10/12/25, 10:27 PM
Lazarus said...: I have to turn that Star Trek comment around. Sixties liberals, sixties people, didn't expect that countries would entirely disappear. Whatever would logically have happened in 2 or 3 centuries, JFK liberals always assumed and hoped deep down inside that America would in some sense be running things. The television audience wouldn't have put up with anything else, but I doubt American liberals (a large part of the audience) would have accepted something different either.; 10/12/25, 10:31 PM
TeaBagHag said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 10/12/25, 10:32 PM
Jupiter said...: Spock never said: "I'm a doctor..."

OK, you're almost certainly right. I am probably conflating him with Dr. Spock, the popular author of various pediatric inanities. At the same time, unless the honorific had died out by then, it is highly unlikely that the Chief Science officer of the Starship Enterprise would not have a doctoral degree. Fucking Jill Biden has a doctorate.; 10/12/25, 10:32 PM
Jupiter said...: In Eisenhower's rather anodyne recounting of his participation in the most ghastly episode in human history, he gives a brief description of the aftermath of the "Falaise Gap", in which the Germans retreating before the Allied advance after the D-Day landing were caught in a pincer between allied armies, and subjected to a devastating artillery bombardment on troops moving in the open. He describes grassy meadows, hundreds of yards long and wide, in which it would have been possible to move about on the corpses of dead German soldiers, without ever touching the ground.
I doubt that Eisenhower attempted this feat, or anyone in his entourage. Rather, I think that as they toured the scene, this hideous possibility made itself evident to them, as an obvious physical aspect of the grotesque atrocity that was the culmination of his tireless efforts; the clear evidence of his professional competence; the grim picture of what he must continue to accomplish if he were to carry out what he regarded as his duty.; 10/12/25, 10:52 PM
wildswan said...: There's feed at the Times of Israel showing a crowd waiting to hear about the hostages. It's a silent, somewhat sombre crowd, ready to hear bad news. But hoping underneath for the wild and improbable news that Hamas has kept its word. The release should happen at 8am Jerusalem time and 11:35pm Wisconsin time is 7:35am Jerusalem time. So I'll stay up.

https://www.timesofisrael.com/; 10/12/25, 11:39 PM
Jupiter said...: At Spottsylvania Courthouse, Union soldiers pinned papers with their names on their backs, so their bodies could be identified. Recognizing the practicality of this measure, modern armies provide their future corpses with "dog-tags".
All successful modern generals have understood that modern wars are meat-grinders, and the side with the most meat wins. Or, more exactly, the General Officer with the superior access to meat can arrange his battles so that attrition affects both sides equally, which means that his side wins. Of course, this also means that the modern general is equally dangerous to the soldiers on either side.

General Grant's memoir, which is excellent reading, mostly disguises this recognition. But at one point, Grant makes his whole strategic vision clear. Speaking of the many Northern commenters who criticized his conduct of the Battle of the Wilderness, he says that they failed to realize that instead of attacking Lee in Richmond, where he could hide behind his prepared defenses and extract 3-to-1 casualties, Grant had managed to lure him out onto open ground, where he could trade casualties at 1-to-1.
Like Eisenhower, Grant was no monster. He hated what he did. He had a war to win, and the surest way of winning it was to grind the South down until they could fight no longer. However, many lives it cost, it was the safest and surest way to victory.; 10/12/25, 11:49 PM
wildswan said...: Five minutes to go. The crowd at Hostages Square Jerusalem is looking in their cell phones for up dates or news onthe hostage release. Hamas will probably wring out some way to torture Israeli hopes without absolutely breaking theor word.; 10/12/25, 11:58 PM
wildswan said...: 6 hostages to be released at 8, 14 at 10 am.; 10/13/25, 12:02 AM
Jupiter said...: "I'm really getting disappointed in A.I.. Even on simple undisputed facts, it screws up royally."

Bago, you're confused. AI is not designed to get facts right. It is designed to produce word-streams that look like the wordstreams it was trained on.

Look, let me put it this way. An AI program has a choice between two possible wordstreams;
1 - Horses are larger than housecats.
2 - Horses are not larger than housecats.
The determination as to which wordstream to emit will be based upon very complicated, indeed, incomprehensibly complicated considerations. The brilliant morons who wrote the code could not possibly predict which of those wordstreams their "artificially intelligent" program will emit. Because it certainly does not depend upon any ascertainable facts about the relative sizes of horses and housecats.; 10/13/25, 12:05 AM
wildswan said...: Announcements are being made to the crowd at Hostage Square in Jerusalem waiting for news about the hostage release scheduled for 8am. It's now 8:14 over there. There is a live feed from there at and you can see and hear the crowd is cheering but the announcements are in Hebrew and no news organization is saying anything. Anyhow it must be good news still.
News at last. 7 hostages handed to Red Cross. Free at last. but the other 13 living hostages?; 10/13/25, 12:17 AM
wildswan said...: Still sort of impossible to know what is happening in Israel as the crowd feed is ahead of the news and the crowd feed is in Hebrew. But the crowds waiting for news of the return of the hostages have become animated, talking to each other, waving to the cameras, and just being a crowd. The news they hear must be good.; 10/13/25, 12:34 AM
Jupiter said...: "The principal "resource" of the US is its vast market."
In discussing the competition among modern nations for resources, it should be recognized that the nations are largely sock-puppets for private organizations. When the CIA overthrew the Guatemalan government of Jacobo Arbenz, the immediate beneficiary was the United Fruit Company. But the CIA was run by Allen Dulles, who had close connections to Sullivan and Cromwell, the lawyers for United Fruit Company. This is not to say, that states do not have interests, but rather that the interests of a state are necessarily determined by the interests of those who control the state. There are Green Berets on bases in countries in Africa that you may never have heard of. They are there to secure access to resources, which you may also never have heard of. Those resources have been identified as valuable by someone in the US. But likely not you.

The nationalist ideology assumes that "What is good for the USA is good for General Motors". But if that was ever true, it is less and less so in the modern era of multinational corporations, owned by globalist billionaires. It is difficult even to imagine what such people want. But it is not hard to see that their pursuit of their interests will lead to conflicts, and they are OK with that. Omelets, eggs.; 10/13/25, 12:49 AM
wildswan said...: Seven hostages have been handed to the Red Cross who will hand them to the Israeli army and then they will be helicoptered to hospitals where their relatives are waiting. The crowd is waiting to hear that the hostages have reached Israeli territory. But they are pretty confident Hamas is going through with the deal. Incredible! How was it done?; 10/13/25, 12:56 AM
wildswan said...: There is an Aljeezera feed so you can compare an Israeli crowd to a Gaza crowd. The Gaza crowd is is mostly men and teen age boys. Veiled women are there but they do not linger or stand and talk. They keep moving, walking toward a destination. The men are mostly slim but not emaciated; the only fat guy I saw was someone giving orders to a camera crew on where they could stand. I figured he was a Hamas boss, fat from stolen aid but I suppose he could be from somewhere else working with Aljazeera. No cell phones. Dark trousers, white shirts. Maroon or khaki or gray T-shirts
The Israeli crowds looked like American crowds - colorful clothes, jeans with sweatshirts or solid colored T-shirts; cell phones; women mixed in with the crowd; mixed races - blond hair, black hair;, brown hair, red hair; chatter.; 10/13/25, 1:42 AM
wildswan said...: Trump is landing.; 10/13/25, 1:43 AM
wildswan said...: They have marching bands and a red carpet out for Trump at the Israeli airport. They should.; 10/13/25, 1:47 AM
Saint Croix said...: I am probably conflating him with Dr. Spock, the popular author of various pediatric inanities.

The "probably" in that sentence cracks me up. You are definitely conflating him with Dr. Spock. You're not the first one to make that mistake! I've done it, too. It's like a damn Vulcan mind-meld.

At the same time, unless the honorific had died out by then, it is highly unlikely that the Chief Science officer of the Starship Enterprise would not have a doctoral degree.

I'm sure Bones has told him this many times. "You're not a doctor, you green blood Vulcan. Get out of my way!"; 10/13/25, 1:55 AM
wildswan said...: The front row of Israeli waiting to greet Trump fix smiles on their faces. The back row is two Americans exchanging smiles and jokes. Now there's more Americans. I think that;s Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff and Mike Huckabee.
Trump emerges and spends a long time talking to Netanyahu and the Israeli party. No rift, is the message.; 10/13/25, 2:04 AM
Hassayamper said...: TACO will always be TACO.

This TACO thing stands for "Trump always chickens out", is that correct?

It's comically bizarre. He is less prone to "chickening out" than any President of my lifetime. Imagine the roll of the dice it took to drop bunker-buster bombs on Iran's nuclear sites. Imagine the persistence and daring it took to secure the peace accord in the Middle East that is now unfolding.

And there are dozens of other examples. Unleashing DOGE on the Deep State parasites. Vigorous mass deportation of illegals and locking the border down tight. Telling Chuck Schumer to go fuck himself and letting the government shutdown happen. I don't think he's even bothering to take that worthless shithead's phone calls any more. Moving our embassy to Jerusalem. Attacking the drug cartels on the high seas. Taking us out of all these foreign entanglements like WHO and the Paris accords. These are not the actions of a man who "chickens out."

As near as I can tell, the snide leftist ankle-biters who use this acronym have no more justification for it than Trump's penchant for adjusting tariffs on foreign countries to suit the mood he woke up in that day. But you can certainly make the argument that deliberately keeping our foes off balance has a strategic value all by itself. Certainly no recent President has dared to be so aggressive with the many countries that were taking advantage of us for so many years.

I am thrilled that for the first time since Reagan, we have a President who gives more of a damn about the law-abiding American citizen and taxpayer than he does about illegal foreign invaders, criminal thugs, cocktail parties in Georgetown, and the praise of the transnational elite in Europe. We are really going to miss this man when he leaves office.; 10/13/25, 2:12 AM
wildswan said...: Thirteen more hostages should have been released by now. The feed concentrates on Trump, doesn't ask what about the hostages.; 10/13/25, 2:14 AM
wildswan said...: I think it's all going to work out, why I don't know. This exceeds expectations. I'm off to bed.; 10/13/25, 2:29 AM
Saint Croix said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 10/13/25, 2:34 AM
Saint Croix said...: I like this Jack White song a lot.

Archbishop Harold Holmes.

I like the power in the guitar, and his voice. I like the representation of the holy spirit, and the power of the holy spirit. I like his lurch into crazy, which can happen when you're dealing with spiritual matters. Is it all in my head? I like the passion in the song. "You need to see me right away, I can fix this."

I love these lines...

Hate is trying to take somebody else's love for yourself.

But I'm here to tell you that love is trying to help someone else.

And this line is funny: "Don't be selfish and keep it all to yourself. And don't eat shellfish!"; 10/13/25, 2:39 AM
Saint Croix said...: wildswan, I appreciate your commentary on the hostage release. Thank you!; 10/13/25, 2:41 AM
Saint Croix said...: I'm really getting disappointed in A.I. Even on simple undisputed facts, it screws up royally.

What I've discovered, when you try to mock A.I., and quote something it said, the damn A.I. changes its commentary with stealth edits. Everything is fluid. That commentary you cited? Try to link to it. I'll bet it's gone.; 10/13/25, 2:50 AM
Saint Croix said...: I like the BBC coverage of the hostage release way more than what CNN has to say.; 10/13/25, 3:07 AM
Saint Croix said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 10/13/25, 3:12 AM
Saint Croix said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 10/13/25, 3:20 AM
gadfly said...: As Yogi Berra was wont to advise, "It ain't over 'till the fat lady sings." Israel and the Arabs have been starting and stopping wars since 1948.

According to Wiki, the Arab–Israeli conflict began in the 20th century, evolving from earlier Intercommunal violence in Mandatory Palestine and the seeking of a homeland for Jews that started after WWI.

The conflict became a major international issue with the birth of Israel in 1948. The Arab–Israeli conflict has resulted in at least five major wars and several minor conflicts. It has also been the source of two major Palestinian uprisings (intifadas).; 10/13/25, 3:43 AM
gadfly said...: Sorry. Yogi said : "It aint over till it's over."

Operas are over when the fat lady sings the aria; 10/13/25, 3:53 AM
gadfly said...: MSNBC and others reported that ICE was zip-tying kids together in the apartment complex raid. If this is a lie, show us the ICE body cam footage.

ABC7 interviewee, Eboni Watson, ducked down upon hearing flash bangs detonate, and was then distressed by the sight of children detained. “They was bringing the kids down too, had them zip-tied to each other,” she said. “That’s all I kept asking. What is the morality? Where’s the human? One of them literally laughed. He was standing right here. He said, ‘fuck them kids.’”

Watson told the Chicago Sun-Times it was “heartbreaking” to see “kids coming out buck naked and taken from their mothers.”

America is gone, and the fascists don't care. The government is shut down, but these assholes are receiving paychecks.; 10/13/25, 4:50 AM
john mosby said...: Peachy, ref Antifa sticking phones in cops' faces: Coincidentally, this morning I got this story in my MSN feed:

https://www.news4jax.com/news/local/2025/10/10/jso-to-annouce-arrests-involving-battery-on-a-law-enforcement-officer-violations-of-floridas-new-halo-law/

FL has a new statute that says people have to keep 25 feet back from cops making an arrest. If they fail to do so after being warned, it's a 60-day misdemeanor.

Will be interesting to see if it survives judicial review. Would probably help if FL cops can lock up a few supporters along with the opponents, ie equal numbers of "Lettim go, he dindu nuffin!" and "Lock that mofo's ass up! Yeah!" That would show it's content-neutral. CC, JSM; 10/13/25, 5:33 AM
john mosby said...: Gadfly, ref tying kids together: ICE was sweeping the building for Tren de Aragua members. They had to get everyone out, including/especially innocent parties. You can't predict what kids will do: daisy-chaining them together so it's harder for them to run out into the street, or back into their apartments, means you can get them to safety faster.

Jeez, people pay thousands of dollars a year here in DC for day-care centers where the kids get tied together on field trips. CC, JSM; 10/13/25, 5:35 AM
Leland said...: gadfly said...
MSNBC and others reported

That Charlie Kirk was killed by a supporter standing in the crowd. You should find better sources of information, botfly.; 10/13/25, 5:43 AM
Jaq said...: TACO is sour grapes by people trying to manipulate Trump into things that he doesn’t want to do.; 10/13/25, 5:55 AM
Jaq said...: Trump does bluff a lot though. If you bluff and get more of what you want than you would have gotten had you not bluffed, that is not "chickening out," but I can see why people who do not wish him well would say that in order to undermine him.; 10/13/25, 6:10 AM
Just an old country lawyer said...: Jupiter, Barbara Tuchman summed up the strategic situation in the final summer of the War by noting that Grant realized that he could afford to lose battles and advance, while Lee couldn't afford to win them and retreat.
Have a good week.; 10/13/25, 6:55 AM
Kakistocracy said...: "This TACO thing stands for "Trump always chickens out", is that correct?"

It is my understanding it refers to Trump's trade/tariff policies.

This is an amateurish mix of good moves and blunders — tragedy and comedy rolled into one. In the morning, they try to block China trade; by midday, they’re busy wrecking EU trade; later, they buy an icebreaker from Finland because the “mighty” US industry can’t even build a decent yacht. And by evening, they’re back to appeasing Beijing. All of it wrapped in bombastic rhetoric that plays well with weak Europeans (from the UK to Poland), while Brasília — and even Argentina — remain unfazed, happily taking Chinese money. No wonder gold is at $4,000.; 10/13/25, 7:44 AM
Jaq said...: Every once in a while, Kak, you unleash a corker. Hard to believe that such a clear eyed analysis comes from a guy who thinks that a country with 6,000 nukes can be safely baited with US attacks on its ports, because the frog will never hop out of the water.; 10/13/25, 8:02 AM
Jaq said...: I guess we will know in three years, if there is still an internet, which one of us was right.; 10/13/25, 8:05 AM
Iman said...: “snide leftist ankle-biters”

A perfect description of several lefty Pomeranians skittering around these parts.; 10/13/25, 8:07 AM
Jaq said...: This question is just me asking Kak a question, because I am curious about what he really thinks. If the usefulness of a nuke is only the threat, doesn't that apply to us, as well? If we give Ukraine Tomahawk missiles, and they are used to seriously damage Russian ports, let's say, and Russia retaliates by destroying, say, a Dutch port, using non nuclear weapons, like the Hazelnut hypersonic, since, the Dutch seem to be the conduit for the missiles, will we use nukes in response? What would that gain us?

Once open war breaks out like this, Moscow has to assume that the US will try the same kind of decapitation strike we tried with Iran, only nuclear, and so their weapons will be on a hair trigger.

What is wrong with my analysis? No name calling, please.; 10/13/25, 8:15 AM
Jaq said...: The war is being run out of Ramstein, so I would imagine that that will be likely target of a non-nuclear attack as well. I mean, why not? You have already said that the use of nuclear weapons is never going to happen, because the threat is all they are good for? Why would we start a nuclear exchange over the loss of Ramstein?; 10/13/25, 8:25 AM
Bob Boyd said...: This is an amateurish mix of good moves and blunders

All of life is a mix of good moves and blunders. You just do your best to have more of the former and less of the latter. Sometimes you don't even know for a long time which was which.
But by what standard is Trumps foreign policy to be sneered at and dismissed as "amateurish?"
By comparison to the prestigiously credentialed and supercilious US foreign policy establishment who have an almost unblemished record of total failure going back at least 30 years?; 10/13/25, 8:54 AM
Kakistocracy said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 10/13/25, 9:29 AM
Kakistocracy said...: The glaring shortfall of Trump’s “ Donroe Doctrine” is that it is not thought through long-term. As it is, it seems to be developed “ on the hoof” because its name-giver is notoriously impatient and transactional. This way, unfortunately, will only lead to US and global pain. You don’t play with chess grand masters, such as Xi and Putin and hope to win, if you’re only good at playing monopoly. In the long run, this “doctrine” will weaken the US irretrievably.; 10/13/25, 9:38 AM
Mr. T. said...: Would you like some whine with your word salad, Kak/RichSockpuppet/paidActbluetroll?; 10/13/25, 9:42 AM
Jaq said...: "You don’t play with chess grand masters, such as Xi and Putin and hope to win,"

Wait a minute, I thought that they were evil thugs who put their personal interest over that of their countries? See, it's hard to maintain a propaganda conceit that you don't really believe, isn't it. Too many chances for self contradiction.

I see though, that you aren't going to defend your rosy cakewalk vision of defeating Russia.; 10/13/25, 10:02 AM
Bob Boyd said...: Wow. You have such amazing insight and perspective, wisdom gained, no doubt, from long experience as an anonymous internet typer. I see now that my faith in Trump was misplaced and it's all depressingly hopeless. Thanks for that at least.
Too bad you didn't step up and lead the country and the world through these difficult times yourself. I'm sure you'd have made it look easy. I guess we'll have to blunder along with Donald Trump. What a shame.; 10/13/25, 10:17 AM
Hassayamper said...: gold is at $4,000.

That's because every government in the Western world is printing money out of thin air.; 10/13/25, 10:28 AM
Jaq said...: "He said if! Now the Great Pumpkin will never come!"; 10/13/25, 10:58 AM
Jaq said...: I still think that Trump is the best we could hope for, but he's not perfect.; 10/13/25, 10:59 AM
Kakistocracy said...: Trump to meet Zelenskyy in Washington on Friday ~ FT

‘US president has floated selling long-range Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine in bid to end Russia’s invasion’

$300bn in Russian reserves can sure buy a lot of tomahawks.

Putin needs to make peace now.

Zelensky and his team are a class act, no mistake. Hopefully Trump can rise to the occasion. Who knows, he might even get a Nobel if he can twist Putin's arm sufficiently that the Russians withdraw from Ukraine.; 10/13/25, 11:15 AM
MadTownGuy said...: Was The 2020 Census Algorithmically Polluted? (Lawrence Person's Battleswarm Blog)

Long article, but here's the summary:

"Defenders say the pandemic caused the problem. That explains some fog, not the direction of the wind. The pattern of overcounts and undercounts tracked politics too cleanly to dismiss as random. A privacy method that was sold as neutral in theory coincided with partisan advantage in practice, and the guardians of the method refused to allow a transparent audit of its settings or its state by state allocation. Abowd, a Democrat donor, insisted that publishing epsilon values and the allocation mechanics would let bad actors reverse engineer the data to identify individuals. That claim collapses under basic scrutiny. If the risk of disclosing individuals is truly so sensitive that even the budget of the noise must be hidden, then differential privacy is the wrong tool for a decennial census that decides representation. The constitutional priority is accuracy of the count for apportionment. Privacy can be protected with targeted suppression or an “undetermined” flag for sensitive attributes. What cannot be justified is injecting falsity into the total number of people who live in each place.

If all this is true, President Trump’s call for a mid-decade census is more than justified. The constitution calls for an enumeration of citizens, not an algorithmic approximation poisoned by partisan pollution. A new count is needed to restore accuracy and remove illegal aliens from the census."; 10/13/25, 11:29 AM
Jaq said...: Yes, US managed, aimed, and guided attacks with US weapons on Russia not reckless at all, because using nukes never makes sense! Therefore we will not nuke Russia if they retaliate by attacking ports in the West, or blowing up refineries, or, whatever.

It sure is comforting to know that there is no risk of this escalation getting out of control, since, you know, Tomahawks are nuclear capable.; 10/13/25, 11:31 AM
Jaq said...: I am hoping that this is a bluff. It would not put it past Trump to try to bluff a bad hand into an acceptable deal. But I fear that faced with the loss of Odessa, Europe may force his hand.

Biden probably would have WWIII well underway by now, and Harris's speech at that security conference was about as hawkish as they get, so there is hope with Trump.; 10/13/25, 11:39 AM
Original Mike said...: "Putin needs to make peace now."

Putin the grand chess master? That Putin?; 10/13/25, 12:23 PM